An Analysis of Magic in Mahnuj
Pre-Karkien Decimation For thousands of years the gods reigned over the denizens of Kalgranoon from their celestial thrones somewhere in Mahnuj. Their power was vast, enough to radiate the warmth of their magic to all corners of the realm. The Vasil were the first of the new races of the Second Era to tap into this source of mysterious 'mana' that the gods radiated like brilliant torches in the darkest night. The second were the Kalnuur, and the third the Saurians. This magic was accessible to all who had the aptitude, and the gods bestowed unto their individual worshipers special exclusive blessings and powers. The Lukaza had the blessings of all of the gods, and for that reason they were the most powerful magic users second only to the Adrazi. The Adrazi shared the power of the gods directly through means of a direct divine connection, as they themselves were divinity incarnate. So therefore, Magic was separated into four major groupings, Arcana (The all-pervading mana field created by the presence of the gods), Divine (The magic presented by the gods to their followers), Black Magic (The arcane mana-field created by the Karkien gods that leaked through the Karkien portals, allowing for dark and horrible magic), and Daemonic (The blessings bestowed by the Karkien Lords unto their followers.) Throughout the ~5850 years of the Second Era, scholars and mages discovered countless magnificent and unusual properties of magic. Legendary sorcerers like Lazerak the Vasil Adrazi, Tharoon the Kalnuur Adrazi, Der'ge the Saurian Adrazi, Kaleido Kalamitous (inventor of the famed Kaleidoscope), and Erasmus Averell (The hermit Druid of Aem'iel'tang) achieved unbelievable feats with their powers. Others, like the scholar (and allegedly short-time Emperor of the Vasilian Empire) Maeglin Arnatuilë were entirely incapable of even the simplest feat of magic. Post-Karkien Decimation When the Karkien Decimation occurred and the gods disappeared beyond the inter-planar veil, people began to notice over time that the power of their magical abilities was seeping away. The first to notice were the Lukaza, now the strongest known mages of Kalgranoon (Since all of the Adrazi perished during or prior to the Decimation). Divinity scholars have determined that the gods must have passed through the veil into Karkien and damaged it. The same thing happened when Lilyath left Mahnuj during creation at the dawn of time, creating windows into Aalguden (The sun and stars). If the Three Travelers left Mahnuj to go to Karkien, the same thing would have happened, but on a much larger scale. A window to Karkien would have been opened, but because the realms were separated in the ensuing battle, the hole was torn into the Void between the realms and mana began spilling out. Scholars posture that the Gods must have stayed outside of Mahnuj for fear of damaging it any further and are perhaps in the process of repairing the damage fro mthe outside, but nobody can say for certain. The fate of the gods is purely a matter of speculation, for not even the most powerful looking-glasses can puncture the inter-planar veil. Over the 500 years since The Karkien Decimation, magic users have become few and far between, but a few unexpected occurrences took place which created new sources of mana within Mahnuj. A rogue goddess of fire and light named Aranji emerged from her hiding place within the core of the sun, the gateway to Aalguden. Her presence in Mahnuj created a new source of Mana, but she is unusually selective as to who she grants her powers to. Another source of Mana emerged from the dusts of the wasteland, a mysterious entity known only as "The Blue Sprite" who has been known to help people in times of need. The presence of this entity has been known to stimulate arcane powers within people. It has been posited that perhaps this entity has something to do with the Adrazi Tharoon the Blue, but nobody knows for certain (Except for perhaps the Order of the Blue Diamond.) Old Magic seems to have some retention through bloodlines as well, sensitivity to the Mana of the old gods can only be felt by those who had ancestors who were powerful mages, or people who were wizards before the Karkien Decimation. Still, their power is meager compared to what it once was, and it is getting weaker over time. Most, if not all, of the known magic-users remaining on Kalgranoon reside on the wastes. All magic was made strictly illegal on Galax after the bombing of Central Galax during the First Dustman War by a group of Vasil mages allied with the Dustmen with an Arcane bomb. Most citizens of the city didn't mind this change. The Kalnuur had the hardest time retaining their use of magic because their lives were so short compared to the other races. Magic-users are not as likely to be a Galaxian Kalnuur as they are to be of the other races or hail from the wastes. Many Vasil and Saurians who were alive before the Karkien Decimation still live and retained their now-limited magical abilities, particularly ex-Lukaza and their descendants. This lack of magic was not a hindrance to the Kalnuur. They found new ways of thriving in their environment through innovation and experimentation. They developed steam technology which propelled them to the heavens. As the wise say, necessity is the mother of invention. Some still believe that magical power can be magnified by the moon Malrus, which the ancient race of Moogles supposedly reside upon according to the historical account of the First Era, the Kalgrillion. Perhaps they have learned to generate their own mana by methods unknown to modern science and divination.